Sensex closes 306 points up on new ULIP guidelines

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex shot up by 306 points to a two-month high on Monday as investors responded positively to the government sorting out the dispute over regulation of ULIPs.

The market was also bolstered to a great extent by surging global bourses after China announced steps to let its currency, the yuan, gain against the US dollar.

The Sensex surged by 305.73 points to 17,876.55, a level last seen on April 9, after the government resolved the dispute between market regulator SEBI and IRDA over who had jurisdiction over hybrid ULIPs in favour of the insurance watchdog. ULIPS are life insurance products, a part of which are invested in equities.

The green signal for life insurers to continue offering unit-linked plans resulted in substantial inflows into the market.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 90.70 points to 5,353.30, after touching the day's high of 5,366.75 points.